.:: Lao Knowledge Base on Conservation Agriculture ::.
DMCs offer major agricultural, environmental and socioeconomic advantages:- From an agroenvironmental standpoint, DMCs halt soil erosion which is responsible for waterlogging and destruction of crops and downstream infrastructures (very costly hydroagricultural structures, roads, ditches). By restoring the plant cover, they control runoff, stimulate biological activity in soils, reduce water needs and sequester carbon in the soils (1-2 t/ha/year of carbon, depending on the ecosystem), thus helping to control climate change. DMCs also reduce disease and pest pressure on most crops under all soil climate conditions.
- From a socioeconomic standpoint, DMCs markedly reduce weeding and tillage operations, as well as associated labour and equipment costs. Yields are stabilized or even increased under a broad range of climatic conditions and cropping systems. Moreover, DMCs do not require large equipment such as tractors or treatments with massive quantities of fertilizers, which are beyond the means of the poorest farmers. Indeed, DMCs can be implemented by smallholders with just 0.25 ha of land or owners of large-scale plantations!
